


Safe and Sound

by BluePlanetTrash



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Lullabies, Singing, Singing Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-02-11 21:36:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12944448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluePlanetTrash/pseuds/BluePlanetTrash
Summary: When they investigated a prisoner camp abandoned by the Galra, the last thing Lance expected to find was a small alien child. He couldn't stand to see him cry so he did the only thing he could think of. Singing.





	1. Chapter 1

It didn’t happen often but when it did, the paladins could only feel like they had failed the entire universe. Every failure created a sense of hopelessness in their hearts. They walked through the now abandoned Galra prison, carefully stepping over the destroyed corpses of the prisoners. Somehow the Galra were able to figure out that Voltron would be targeting this prison and instead of trying to fight, they decided to leave and cut their losses. Literally, by the looks of it.

“We’ll need to cover more ground,” Shiro decided. “Pidge, I want you to see what you can pull from the Warden’s system,”

“Got it,” she said, heading up the stairs to the overview offices.

“Keith and Hunk, go left and take blocks A and B, Lance, we’ll go right and take C and D,” he said gesturing to the off-shooting hallways. They nodded and went forward, hoping that they would be able to leave sooner rather than later. Shiro walked beside Lance quietly watching out for any potential danger but it seemed like any enemies had fled leaving the building completely empty. As they approached the stairwell leading down to the C-Block, Shiro gestured for Lance to go down.

“Because it’s closer,” Shiro teased when Lance looked at him questioningly. Lance allowed himself to smirk slightly and he quickly went down the stairs.

“Ugh,” He gagged when he reached the bottom of the stairs. He covered his mouth as he looked at the blood that was covering the floor. He felt absolutely horrified at the amount of malice that these aliens were shown. He cautiously crept forward with his rifle drawn in front of him. He cringed at the way his boots stuck to the floor and came off with a ‘shlick’ each time. He let the light from his wrist armour shine into the darkened cells as he passed them trying to ignore the way his stomach clenched in pity for the people they couldn’t save.

He whipped around when he heard a faint scuffing and sniffing sound coming from the last cell. He brought his bayard up to his eye to line up in case there were hostiles still aboard. The cell door creaked as he swung it open and he almost fell back at the sudden loud wailing that broke out when he entered. He lowered his bayard immediately at the sight of a small figure struggling to push themselves back into the farthest corner of the room, away from Lance. Lance’s heart clenched in sympathy at the sight of the blooded child that couldn’t keep his eyes off of Lance as he bawled and tried to curl up into himself. He looked to be from the planet Puig from the markings on his face and the small horns that were peeking out from his forehead.

“Please don’t hurt me,” the child whispered almost inaudibly but not to Lance. He instantly went down on one knee and laid his bayard on the floor.

“Hey, buddy,” Lance said quietly. For the first time, the child looked at Lance’s face and his eyes widened. “I’m here to rescue you,”

As soon as the words came out of the words came out of his mouth, the boy leapt up with a loud sob and ran into Lance’s arms. Lance brought his arms around him and held his head to his shoulder as he trembled in Lance’s arms. In one of his hands, he picked up his bayard and carefully lifted the Puigan into his arms and backed out of the cell. He ran out of the block and towards the meeting point as quickly as he could, not wanting the boy to be exposed to this place any more than he already had been.

“I’ve got a survivor here, it looks like he’s from Puig,” Lance said into the coms. There were various exclaims of surprise from the rest of the paladins. “What’s your name buddy?” Lance asked quietly.

“Argu,” he sniffled. Lance swayed slightly trying to calm the child. He glanced around when he started hearing footsteps approach from all sides. Argu started sobbing in a panic and wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck. He pushed himself closer to the paladin’s chest, trying to hide from potential enemies. Lance raised his bayard in front of them and scanned the area around them. Shiro raised his arms when he stepped out of the hall and cautiously approached when Lance let his rifle fall to his side.

“So this is our new passenger huh?” Shiro smiled gently at Argu, who was still whimpering softly into Lance’s collar.

“Yeah, his name is Argu,” Lance said hoisting him up a bit to rest more comfortably in his arms. Before they could say anything else, the other paladins came rushing out, Hunk and Keith from the hallway and Pidge punding down the stairs. They all looked at the shaken toddler in Lance’s arms and looked to Shiro.

“Were heading out guys, straight to the Castle from here,” he said gesturing to the exit of the compound. They nodded their heads and headed out, surrounding Lance and Argu like a protective pride of lions. Lance tilted Argu’s head away from the view of the other prisoners. He knew that his innocence was already close to destroyed but if he could spare him just a little, it would be worth it.

“Coran, we have a Puigan child coming on board, he’ll have to be looked over,” Shiro’s voice echoed over the coms.

“Oh dear, I’ll be waiting in the med bay when you come on board,” he replied shortly.

They climbed into their lions and took off towards the Castle being sure to still look out for any lurking Galra. Lance looked down at Argu who was whining quietly and trembling in the crook of Lance’s arm.

“Hey Argu, it’s okay buddy,” Lance tried to comfort him. “You’ll never see that place ever again, we’re going to take you back to Puig and your family,” he rocked him gently against his chest and frowned when his condition didn’t change. He tried to tell him about Voltron and their adventures, or about Earth and how he got to space but nothing seemed to work. Looking at Argu’s terrified face reminded him of comforting his little sisters back home and he remembered that singing to them always helped them calm down. He felt a brief bout of homesickness but pushed it down. Right now someone needed him. He trusted the flying to Blue and wrapped his arms around Argu to cradle him warmly.

“I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I’ll never let you go when all those shadows almost killed your light,” he sang quietly. He heard Argu’s breath hitch slightly at the new tone.

“I remember you said don’t leave me here alone, but all that’s dead and gone and passed tonight,” he could hear Argu still sniffing slightly but he could see his eyes start to open up to look at him.

“Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I’ll be safe and sound,” he wiped the tears that were falling down his face and propped him up against his shoulder. Argu looked at him in wonder as he continued to sing to him. The choked crying died after a few lines and Lance rocked him gently to the tune of the song. As he let out hums he could see Argu’s eyes slipping shut as the last few tears rolled down his cheeks. He looked at him fondly and dabbed at his cheeks to get rid of the tear tracks. Looking forward he noticed that they were almost ready to fly into the hanger and land. He got control of Blue again and gently landed her.

“We’re at the Castle Argu,” he said quietly and huffed in amusement when the child didn’t rouse in the slightest. He only picked him up and trudged out of Blue ready to take him to Coran to be checked out before they decide when to take him back to Puig. He stepped down the ramp and stopped when he noticed the rest of the team waiting for him with small smiles.

“Hey, guys… what’s goin on?” He asked hesitantly. He walked past them and they followed slightly behind him.

“So, I was thinking that we could have a Voltron band,” Pidge started. Lance looked back at her in confusion and quirked a brow which she ignored.

“Keith would be bass guitar, Shiro lead guitar, Hunk on the drums and I would be on the keyboard,” she said flippantly pressing a hand to her chest.

“Oh yeah?” Lance said with a smirk, deciding to humour her, “and where would I be?” He asked.

“Lead singer obviously,” she said smugly. He felt his entire face go red and turned so he could walk backwards. This way he could see the smiles on each paladin’s face.

“You heard me?” Lance squeaked. They laughed at the way his blush covered his entire face.

“Yeah, that sort of happens when you have your coms on,” Keith chuckled. Lance groaned dramatically and turned his back to them instead.

“If it’s any consolation, you’re a great singer,” Shiro said earnestly. Lance ducked his head down, embarrassment tingling in his gut.

“Thanks, Shiro,” he mumbled quietly. They walked into the med bay where Coran was waiting patiently. Lance gazed at the now peaceful Argu and gently laid him down on the table.

“Let’s get you fixed up buddy,”


	2. Chapter 2

Now that the team knew that he could sing, he felt more comfortable singing while he walking around the ship. It didn’t mean he didn’t stop whenever he saw one of his friends. Although they would try and encourage him to sing, he would always blush and stutter out some sort of excuse before turning the other way and running away.

He didn’t think that it was important that he could sing, everyone in his family could sing. He had done it his entire life, whether it be singing in the kitchen with his parents, at his family’s church, or participating in school talent shows. He did have a habit of comforting his siblings with a lullaby or something similar when they were upset or had trouble getting to sleep. He didn’t think that he would ever sing in front of his teammates until he realized how much it helped them.

* * *

 

The first one that he helped was Pidge. He found her sitting on the lounge’s couch, typing away on her computer. He knew that she hadn’t gone to sleep for very long over the last three or so days and he thought that it was about time that he intervened. He walked over and plopped himself down beside her.

“Hey, Pidge,”

“Hi,” she replied shortly, not looking up from her work.

“You should probably head to bed soon, we’re going to have a long day tomorrow,” he tried.

“We always have long days Lance,” she deadpanned, never once taking her eyes off of her work.

“Well yeah, but you usually have at least a few hours before you get up,” he reasoned. Her shoulders slumped slightly and her fingers came off of the keyboard before she looked over at Lance. For the first time, he noticed the dark bags that were under her eyes.

“I’m trying Lance, I really am,” she said, sounding truly exhausted. She closed her laptop and set it off to the side.

“I try to get through some codes to get tired or something but it doesn’t work anymore,” her hands came up to dig into her eyes. “I’m so tired, but I can’t get to sleep,”

Lance’s eyes widened slightly at the admission and he quickly wrapped her up in a hug. He had no idea that Pidge was going through that. He just thought that she was concentrating too hard on some Galra code. That’s how it was at the Garrison, or at least it seemed like it.

“I’m sorry if it’s affecting the team,” Pidge said quietly. Lance jolted slightly in surprise and realized that Pidge was crying.

“No, no, Pidge, I was just worried about you,” Lance said frantically, hugged her tightly to his chest.

“Maybe I can help?” He suggested looking down at her. She sniffed and shook her head slightly.

“I don’t know what you can do about it, I mean there’s no real reason behind it,” she admitted.

“Nonsense, there’s always something you can do, I used to sing to my little brother and sister to help them get to sleep,” he stated with a smile. Pidge looked at him in surprise.

“I didn’t think you liked singing around us,” Pidge sniffed.

“Well this is more important than that,” Lance huffed with a small pout. Pidge laughed and snuggled closer to Lance.

“Okay,” she said quietly, closing her eyes and going limp against Lance’s chest. He hummed quietly in thought, going through his mind for a song.

**_“Wandering child of the Earth, do you know just how much you’re worth?”_** He started quietly, running his fingers through her hair.

**_“You have walked this path since your birth, you were destined for more,”_** he felt Pidge’s breath start evening out and carefully slid her glasses off of her face and folded them up.

**_“There are those who’ll tell you, you're wrong, they will try to silence your song,”_** thankfully Pidge fell asleep quickly during the first few lines of his song. He carefully got up and slid one of the cushions under her head.

**_“But right here is where you belong, so don’t search anymore,”_** he brushed her hair off of her forehead and frowned at the tear tracks that he saw drying on her cheeks. He had no idea how much she was suffering over the past few days. He was glad that he was the one that found her, he wasn’t sure how the others would have handled it.

**_“You are the dawn of a new day that’s waking, a masterpiece still in the making,”_** he sang as he pulled up one of the spare blankets up to her chin. He smiled and sat up. It seemed like Pidge would be able to stay asleep and he knew that she would come to him if she didn’t. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead, just like he would for his siblings and quietly left for his own room.

* * *

 

The second teammate he helped was Hunk. By then, he was singing for Pidge for several weeks. Whenever she was having trouble getting to sleep, she would go and seek him out. She didn’t even need to say anything, the sheepish look on her face was enough for him.

He started singing for Hunk when one day when he was wandering through the lion’s hangers and he heard a panicked voice. He immediately recognized it as Hunk’s and hurried toward it.

He found him laying across Yellow’s paw, words quickly spewing out of his mouth. It didn’t look like he was having a panic attack or an anxiety attack but he could tell that he was tense and was spitting out his worries to Yellow.

“Hunk?” Lance called out, walking towards him. Hunk’s head whipped over to face him and a wobbling smile spread across his face.

“Hey, Lance!” He said with false cheer. If Lance hadn’t come across his earlier, he didn’t think he would have noticed anything off. He decided to ignore that for now, his best friend needed him.

“You alright, buddy?” he asked stepping up beside him. Hunk looked over at him with a small smile, before his chin trembled and tears fell from his eyes. His hands went up to cover his eyes even as he nodded his head yes.

“It’s really fine Lance, I was just getting worried about the mission coming up, I mean what if we don’t get there on time? Or when we do get there, we can’t actually help them? Or-,”

“Hunk, breathe,” Lance said calmly, climbing up beside Hunk. “It’s all going to be fine, we’ve done this a million times,”

“Yeah, I know but it doesn’t make it any less scary,” he added. Lance huffed out a little laugh and leaned back against Hunk’s stomach.

**_“Little child, be not afraid, the rain pounds hard against the glass,”_** he sang staring up at the ceiling of the hanger. He felt Hunk tense slightly, probably in surprise before the tension seeped out of his body.

**_“Like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger, I’m here tonight,”_ **

**_“Little child, be not afraid, though the thunder explodes and lightning flash, illuminates your tearstained face, I’m here tonight,”_** he reached over his shoulder to hold Hunk’s hand in his own. He started rubbing circles in the top of it as he sang his song.

**_“And someday you’ll know, that nature is so, this same rain that draws you near me, falls on rivers and land, and forests and sand, makes the beautiful world that you see, in the morning,”_** he turned himself over so his cheek was pressing into Hunk’s cheek as he continued singing to the paladin. He could feel every muscle in his body relaxing as he sang line after line. Even after he finished they stayed, looking up at the ceiling.

“Bro, that was beautiful,” Hunk said, breaking the silence. Lance let out a wheeze and sat up.

“Thanks, man,” he laughed, looking back at Hunk over his shoulder.

“How come you don’t sing more often?” He asked seriously, not getting up from where he was laying.

“I don’t know, I’ve been singing to Pidge when she needs help getting to sleep but that’s about it,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, I wonder if there is like space talent shows or something,” Hunk mused out loud, earning another choked laugh from Lance.

“That would be pretty sweet,”

* * *

 

He was surprised when it didn’t stop at Pidge and Hunk. He was convinced that Keith and Shiro, wouldn’t need or want him to sing for them. So understandably he was shocked when Keith knocked on his door late one night, waking him up from a dead sleep. He didn’t wear his headphones anymore since Pidge would sometimes wake him up.

“Pidge?” He asked, opening the door, only to come face to face with Keith.

“Keith? What are you doing here?” He asked in confusion, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He looked nervously down at his boots.

“Um, Pidge and Hunk said that you were able to help them get to sleep?” He asked, twisting his hands together.

“Uh, yeah, I have been helping them,” he admitted, confused at where Keith was getting at. He didn’t want to ask for Lance’s help, did he?

“I really need your help,” he spit out. “I’ve been trying to get help from Shiro but he has enough on his plate,”

“Oh, okay then,” Lance agreed and walked out the door closing it behind him.

“What? Okay then?” Keith parroted.

“Um, yes? What? Did you expect me to say no?” Lance teased leading Keith towards his own room.

“Kind of?”

“Oh, ouch, no I wouldn’t leave you hanging when you need my help,” Lance said with a smile as Keith scanned his hand and they walked into his room. Keith looked back at Lance waiting for direction.

“Oh right, um, get in your pyjamas I guess,” Lance instructed. Keith only quirked his brow and gestured to the clothes he was in.

“I wear this to bed,” he said. Lance gasped horrified and put a hand over his heart.

“Not while I’m here,” he said before heading to Keith closet and whipping it open. He pulled the red robe and pants off the selves and threw them at Keith, who began to protest.

“Nope, if you want my help, you follow my rules,” he said pushing Keith into the bathroom. He came out minutes later wearing an almost matching set to Lance’s.

“Alright now lay down,” he said gesturing over at Keith’s bed.

“This isn’t just going to be you telling me step by step how to go to sleep right?” He grumbled laying down and pulling his cover up. Lance laughed and shut off the lights before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Nope,” he said cheerfully before putting a finger up to his chin in thought. A smile came to his lips when the perfect song came to his mind.

**_“Close your eyes, I know what you see, the darkness is high, and you’re in ten feet deep,”_** Keith listened in amazement as the same voice from their mission came from Lance. Almost immediately his eyelids started drooping slightly, it was like magic.

**_“But we’ve survived, more terrible monsters than sleep, and you know I will be here, to tell you to breathe,”_** he could see Keith’s form relaxing little by little besides the occasional twitch in his hands.

**_“Tu sei il mio soldatino, la ragione per cui vivo, non ti scordar di me, io vegliero su di te,”_** Keith didn’t know whether Lance spoke Italian or he just knew it from the song, really though at the moment it didn’t really matter. He had never been sung a lullaby before, he never knew his mother and although his dad did give it a shot, he wasn’t much of a lullaby singer.

**_“Stumbling lost, the last choice of all that you meet, it’s the cost, of ruling those ‘neath your feet,”_** when it seemed that Keith was finally asleep, Lance scooted closer to Keith’s head and started running his fingers through his hair, like he always did to Pidge. It had the same effect too. His shoulders relaxed completely and he was limp against his pillow, his head lolling to the side.

**_“Paths you’ve crossed, and trust you’re trying to keep, you’re exhausted, listening for a voice that can’t speak,”_** he sang as he got up from the bed and crept to the door.

“Good-night Keith,” he whispered to the bed before he slid out and back to his room.

When Keith woke up the next morning, he immediately went to breakfast in his robes and accused Lance of witchcraft.

* * *

 

After that, Lance thought he was done. He would sing with Hunk pretty well whenever they were together. A few lullabies when he was freaking out, some Beyoncé when they were cleaning the lions, and a couple show-tunes when they were cooking. Keith and Pidge would come up to him whenever they needed help and he would readily give it to them.

Shiro, however, was a different story. Lance didn’t think that the man needed help and if he did, he would ask for it like a responsible adult. He was wrong.

After singing for both Keith and Pidge, he decided that he wasn’t really tired and went down to the lounge instead. He left a couple of magazines he got from the space mall in there and was going to read them before he went to sleep.

He was only there for a few minutes when he heard the doors slide open and Shiro walked in. He was clearly surprised to see Lance sitting there and went to turn around.

“Wait right there Shiro,” Lance’s voice halted him in his tracks and he looked over his shoulder at him. Lance had a stern look on his face and was pointing his finger at him over the magazine.

Lance could clearly see Shiro’s form trembling slightly and he was covered in a layer of sweat. His eyes were darting in every direction but he didn’t run like Lance asked.

“Come sit with me,” he offered, patting the seat beside him. Shiro hesitated but dropped down next to him. Lance closed the magazine throwing it off to the side and looked at Shiro with kind eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He asked sincerely. Shiro immediately looked away again.

“Nothings wrong Lance,” he spat glaring at the wall. Lance sighed and leaned back in the couch.

“I know what a nightmare looks like Shiro,” he said. Shiro blinked but didn’t take his eyes off of the wall.

“I’m not going to ask you what happened or how you feel because I don’t think that will help, but I can stay with you,” Lance looked over at him and saw him biting down on his lower lip, his chin was quivering and he could see his eyes getting glassy.

“And I won’t leave you here alone,” he said, right before Shiro let out a quiet sob. Lance’s eyes widened as he looked at Shiro. He scooted over and wrapped his arms as much as he could around him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked worried, never seeing Shiro break down like this. Shiro kept his eyes covered by his hand but he could see tears dripping out from under it anyway.

“I don’t want you to see me like this, how weak I am,” he admitted, folding over slightly.

“What? You’re not weak Shiro, you’re the strongest guy I know,” Lance argued. Shiro shook his head.

“I’m not supposed to break down, I’m the leader, a leader doesn’t break,”

“That doesn’t make you weak Shiro, that makes you human,” Lance stated, pulling Shiro’s hand away from his eyes. He moved away from Shiro and laid one of the cushions on his lap.

“Here, lay down,” he said patting it.

“Why?” Shiro asked, even as he moved to do so.

“I’m going to help you go to sleep, and hopefully stay asleep, my sister did this for me and it always worked,” he said, as Shiro laid his head down on his lap.

**_“I, I wish I could swim,”_** unlike everyone else, Shiro didn’t tense up in surprise, he only kept looking at Lance as he began to sing.

**_“Like dolphins, like dolphins could swim,”_** his eyes drifted over to look at the wall before he finally slipped them shut, and relaxed against Lance. It was obvious that he didn’t think it was going to work but was feigning sleep until Lance was satisfied enough to leave him alone. He didn’t know how tenacious Lance could be though, especially if it concerned his friends.  

**_“Though nothing will keep us together,”_** he threaded his fingers through Shiro’s hair and started massaging his scalp. He could feel the muscles in Shiro’s neck getting looser as time went on.

**_“We can beat them, forever and ever,”_** he had never seen Shiro look this relaxed before. Seeing the difference between this Shiro and the one they saw during the day made Lance realize the stress that Shiro was under. He was taking care of four other teenagers in space and at the same time trying to same the entire universe.

**_“Oh we can be Heroes, just for one day,”_** a quiet snore came from Shiro mouth ad he almost stopped singing to laugh at him. He watched Shiro with fond eyes, looking for any sign of a nightmare or wakefulness but didn’t see anything.

**_“Oh we can be Heroes, just for one day,”_**  he leaned further into the couch, trying to make himself comfortable. He was going to keep his promise and stay with Shiro. The next morning, Shiro woke up, his hair messed up and laying on his side. Half of his face was covered in drool, making a large spot on the cushion. Lance didn’t laugh out loud but Shiro could tell that he wanted to.

* * *

 

Lance would do anything for his friends. They only had to seek him out and ask for it. Little did they know, they weren’t the only ones gaining from it. Whenever Lance sang for them, he felt like he was back home helping one of his siblings. He would feel connected to his family, through the other paladins. Although, he missed his home very much, just having someone to sing to, would be good enough until he got back.

* * *

 

Pidge’s Song - [Wanderer’s Lullaby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70VlAyEUXYM) (Adriana Figueroa)

Hunk’s Song - [Lullaby for a Stormy Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCktyjCosHE) (Vienna Teng)

Keith’s Song - [Soldatino](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9fu5rJ3k4Q) (Paola Bennet)

Shiro’s Song - [Heroes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9QZb4WKIxs) (Peter Gabriel)

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me at my Tumblr too!: https://blueplanettrash.tumblr.com/


End file.
